There are five criteria for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

Every 10 years or so, Colorado Mesa University (CMU) completes the process of self-evaluation before accreditors perform an evaluation of the school themselves.

From there, the HLC will make a decision about the accreditation status of the university. While the HLC is a nonprofit, private organization they are officially recognized by the Department of Education.

The HLC has a governing Board of Trustees that is elected by members and has a president selected by the Board. There are also peer reviewers that are trained in higher education that work with the HLC.

Members from CMU will soon be traveling to Chicago, Illinois in order to receive training and guidance in the self-evaluation process.

The self-study takes around two years to complete and is led by faculty. They go over the five criteria themselves and then apply it to the university to determine whether CMU meets them to the full capacity.

“We pull together assessment data, we pull together financial data, governance data, HR data, really anything you can imagine. The faculty compiles this and speak to how we pull the university together and then they present this to the accreditors,” CMU President John Marshall said.

The HLC is one of many federally approved accreditors and they are located in Chicago. The institution oversees multiple schools and offers an abundance of training and other help for universities in order to help in the process.

“If you don’t have any follow-up visits [from the HLC], you get a sort of clean bill of health for another 10 years,” Marshall said.